Ancient Egypt for KidsDaily Life

In the movies, you often see the ancient Egyptian civilization presented as a dark and spooky place. The people seem to be in love with death. But the ancient Egyptians were not like that at all. They loved color. And they loved life. They loved it so much they wanted to live forever!

Everyone ate well in ancient Egypt. Everyone bathed daily; the rich bathed in soaking tubs with scented soap and the poor bathed in the Nile. All Egyptians were very clean. Ancient Egyptians had their own homes. They had comfortable furniture. Most ancient Egyptians worked very hard, but they left time each day for play and to spend time with their families.

Family life was very important to the ancient Egyptians. Children were the heart of the family. If a couple could not have a child, they adopted a child. Children were taught to be kind and honest, to respect their parents, to help with the family business, and to care for the elder members of their family.

The ancient Egyptians were not afraid of their gods. If they prayed to a god and their prayer was not answered, they might give the temple statue a little swat with a reed, but they were not really angry. The ancient Egyptians understood that you do not get everything you want all the time. But that did not stop them from praying for what they wanted.

The ancient Egyptians were a happy, clever people. They did many good deeds to keep their heart light (a very important thing to the ancient Egyptians.) They enjoyed poetry and art and music. So don't let the movies scare you. The ancient Egyptians truly were an amazing people. We think you'll like them.